Featured Long Durational Work

Befixt (2013), The House of ia

Duration: 12 Hours

Text byThe House of ia and Karina VahitovaCover photograph bykb Thomason of The House of ia

“Befixt” (2013), the first installment of The House of ia's "Human Project," was a site specific, time-based installation. The performance was based on the “rhizome,” a term Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari used to describe their philosophy for data representation. Jillayne Hunter and kb Thomason used chain, yarn, rope, and fishing line to build an installation representative of the “rhizome” on the stage of Cheer Up Charlies in Austin, Texas.

Jillayne Hunter of The House of ia performing “Befixt” at Cheer Up Charlies in Austin, Texas in 2013. Photograph by kb Thomason

Jillayne Hunter of The House of ia performing “Befixt” at Cheer Up Charlies in Austin, Texas in 2013. Photograph by kb Thomason

Jillayne Hunter of The House of ia performing “Befixt” at Cheer Up Charlies in Austin, Texas in 2013. Photograph by kb Thomason

Jillayne Hunter of The House of ia performing “Befixt” at Cheer Up Charlies in Austin, Texas in 2013. Photograph by kb Thomason

Jillayne Hunter, unable to eat, drink, use the bathroom, move her right hand or neck, take a step, or see, was bound with rope and fastened to the floor and ceiling for 12 consecutive hours. She utilized the constraint of movement to explore her pain, thoughts, desires, frustrations, bodily sensations, compassion, vulnerability, and stillness.

The House of ia intentionally chose a crowded environment and bustling atmosphere for “Befixt” to contrast with the pace of an individual's internal happenings within a social context. This allowed the artists to explore the question of what binds a person and what a person is bound to in a transient space.

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The House of ia is the collaborative works of Jillayne Hunter and kb Thomason. The artists focus on the themes of betwixt binaries, being amid arrival and departure, gender, internal and external spaces. Their website can be found here.